He froze for a moment. Then his logical mind kicked back in.

  Ah... He looked up at the mix-and-match crystals on the chandelier.

  The dump strikes again.

  “Okay. I believe you,” he said, trying to sound as convincing as possible. “I’ve never seen a unicorn horn, but… yep, that looks authentic all right.”

  “But I haven’t even shown you what it does yet,” Olivia replied adamantly.

  She steadied the crystal heart between her thumb and index finger and held the pendant on its chain against her chest.

  “Watch,” Olivia whispered. “It makes rainbows.”

  Closing her eyes, she chanted very quietly, “I need sunshine and rainbows… I need sunshine and rainbows… I need sunshine and rainbows…”

  “Is it working?” she asked, eyes still closed.

  Marco stared at the crystal pendant. The facets of the heart were casting tiny rainbow dots across her chest from the chandelier’s light.

  “I think so…” he said, trying to reassure her. “I think I do see something…”

  Then he blushed—realizing he was staring at her chest. His brain short-circuited. He looked away fast, heart thumping, thankful her eyes were still closed.

  “You have to believe… it’s like a kind of magic,” Olivia explained.

  A gentle knocking came from behind her bedroom door, followed by the rattle of the doorknob.

  “Hey, are you guys ever going to come out?” It was Lemon’s voice.

  “Just give us a minute, okay?” Marco yelled back.

  Olivia kept chanting, “I need sunshine and rainbows… I need sunshine and rainbows…”

  She opened her eyes and looked around the room. Bewildered, she admitted, “I don’t know what’s wrong. It always works. This only happens if someone doesn’t believe. But you believe me, don’t you?”

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  “Yeah… yeah, I think it did work,” Marco assured her with another lie. “I’m pretty sure I saw a rainbow when you had your eyes closed. It was here for a second, but it faded just before you opened your eyes again.”

  “You did?” Olivia smiled. “See? You have to believe. Unicorns are real.”

  He felt bad, but he didn’t want to hurt her feelings… or be forced to stay any longer.

  Then he thought of his mom. How he used to nod and say he believed her, too, whenever she said everything would be fine and her cancer wasn’t serious.

  “It’s been great talking,” Marco said, already edging toward the door. “But I should really go back downstairs. I want to get home before it starts pouring again.”

  He hoped his excuse would be enough.

  Looking sad and deflated, she replied, “I understand.”

  Marco glanced at her face, then at the necklace.

  Crap.

  Then she asked meekly, “Maybe you can come and visit again? I’m so sad and lonely.”

  “Sure…” he said reassuringly. “When I have time. I’m, uh, really busy right now with my important job at the golf course and the Kitten Brigade and everything…”

  “Oh. I see.” Olivia began quietly whimpering, putting her hand over her mouth like before.

  “Don’t! Ugh…” Her sadness made Marco feel terrible for lying.

  “I’ll come again soon, I promise.”

  He couldn’t just leave her like that, not after everything she told him.

  Plus, he still had to catch that big cat out in the garbage dump. He’d be back in the area anyway.

  Olivia asked innocently, “Can I have your phone number before you go?”

  Marco burst out, “What!” Then he bit his bottom lip in horror.

  Oh please. Oh no.

  He hadn’t considered that she might want to call him… It felt like torture.

  “Do you have a phone?” she asked. “Let me give you mine.”

  Pretending to be delighted, he surrendered his cell phone.

  Ahhh! So close to the door too. Dammit.

  She typed in her name and number and gave it back to him. The contact was labeled “Olivia” with a little heart at the end.

  “Promise to call me when you get home, and then I’ll have yours,” she pleaded.

  “Um… okay. I’ll try,” he replied, trying not to actually promise anything.

  She smiled, her eyes lighting up. “You’ve made me so happy!”

  Olivia sat on the edge of the bed fiddling with her pendant and silently mouthed,

  “Bye.”

  Marco had to rub his eyes. It almost looked like she was literally glowing with happiness, and her necklace was glinting sharply right in his face, as though it was mad at him.

  For a cheap piece of glass, that thing sure does refract light.

  Shaking his head, he turned from the pendant glare to unlock her bedroom door and finally escaped back into the musty hallway.

  For now, he felt relief, though he wasn’t looking forward to calling her later.

  His soaked socks squished against his toes and one shoe was more waterlogged than the other, giving him an awkward gait.

  He imagined the dumb Water Witch pointing his dowsing rod at his wet shoe. “The water likes that one.”

  Why was he pointing it at me anyway?

  I’m not special.

  He let out a weak laugh and squished his way toward the stairs.